The Last Jedi Director Teases Leia's Connection to Admiral Holdo

Whether it be Queen Amidala in The Phantom Menace, Mon Motha in Return of the Jedi, or General Organa in The Force Awakens, the Star Wars franchise has a long legacy of powerful female commanders. The tradition will continue with Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo in The Last Jedi, but despite both being prominent members of the Resistance, that doesn't mean Holdo and Leia always see eye-to-eye, according to writer/director Rian Johnson.

In regards to how little we know about Holdo, Johnson told Entertainment Weekly, "The secrecy does have a purpose in that part of the fun with Laura’s character, with Admiral Holdo, is figuring out what her relationship is to everybody as you go along through the movie."

The director continued, “I don’t want to tip the hat too much, but I will say that the heat is immediately turned up on the Resistance.”

Considering the last film featured the Resistance blowing up the First Order's biggest weapon, the nefarious organization will clearly accelerate their attempts at destroying any who oppose. “Everybody is put in a pressure cooker right away, and relationships crack and strain under that pressure," Johnson points out. "That was really interesting to me, the notion of putting this small army under a lot of external pressure and showing some of the results within the Resistance itself.”

In the behind-the-scenes footage that was shared at D23 last month, we glimpsed one shot of Holdo conversating with Leia, which doesn't initially appear to be hostile. However, if Holdo sees opportunities in the stressed situations, Johnson implies that it could be an opportunity for the character to grasp at glory, no matter the cost.

We'll see more of Admiral Holdo when The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the second film in the new Star Wars sequel trilogy that began with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. The film will deal with Luke training Rey to become a, and possibly the last, Jedi. Meanwhile, the Resistance, including Poe Dameron and First Order defector Finn, continues to fight against the First Order, led by General Hux, while Supreme Leader Snoke and his Dark Side follower Kylo Ren continue their mysterious plot.